Quadrifoglio's Quests
by Orange Diary
Summary: One winter night, an object of interest is exchanged between two boys. Seven years later, Aichi is seeking an answer, Kai is hunting a man, Kamui is trying not to get lost and Misaki is looking for a particular human vessel. Meanwhile, some people are out to play the fates and someone else is determined to cut the strings. Fantasy AU, inspired by Kung Fu Panda. Eventual Kaichi
1. Chapter 1: The Boy with Gloves

**Chapter 1 – The Boy with Gloves**

Aichi laid in the muddy snow, listening to bird songs and beast growls. Black foliage swayed in the limit of his vision and stray moonlight squeezed through the canopy. A wolf called in the distance. It was comforting, in a frightening way.

_If you are no longer scared, that means you are no longer alive. _His father's words were never truer this instance in the whole of his life.

_Father,_ He thought._ By the time I get back you will be there too, right?_

His mother told him the job would take six weeks; Aichi's own deadline was eight days. It was possible – really possible – that his father would have already come back when Aichi returned. He closed his eyes. It was a comforting thought in this cold place.

Something small and bony scurried over his thigh and he flinched sluggishly, curling his leg back in a futile attempt at self-protection. The slushy snow slowed his movement and his head bumped against an icy root. A burst of fear zipped across the back of his eyes. He lifted his head and-

The creature was back.

A clawed foot pressed down on the exposed flesh just beneath his chin, the metallic chill diffused into his skin. Then the shadow of a tyrannous beast loomed over his sight and Aichi gasped. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before. Featherless, furless, its body was a concentrate of gleaming edges and sharp lines. As he watched, smouldering ember burned softly from what looked like eye sockets.

"Hey," A voice said. "Are you human?"

Aichi stiffened. The creature breathed out a puff of heat on his frozen eyelids. A sliver of smoke curled out of the gap in its mouth, warming the tip of Aichi's nose. He tried to move his tongue but it caught behind his teeth.

"Overlord, back off," The voice ordered. The beast gave a raspy pant before removing its nails from Aichi's neck. It hopped onto the snow with a soft squelch and its position was replaced by a humanoid silhouette.

"Hey," The boy exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Aichi strained his lips to answer but the shape crouched down in front of him and extended a hand.

"Wow, you must be so cold," He said.

Aichi stared at the up-turned digits. It was smaller than most hands he'd seen and was clad in a dark, fingerless glove. It looked so strange from here. In his memory, there was a much larger hand. It was usually accompanied by a deep voice that said, _If it hurts, then don't fall again, Aichi._

"Grab hold," The stranger instructed, a little impatience creeping into his tone. "I'll pull you up."

So Aichi did. He placed his own ungloved hand into the gloved one. The boy tightened his damp hold and heaved Aichi to his feet with a grunt. They both tottered sideways and fell against neighbouring tree trunks.

"You're heavy," The boy said, having regained his balance. "What in the world were you doing, lying on the ground? Had people never told you that you could freeze to death?"

"I-I...," Aichi found his voice but not words. A wave of shame and embarrassment washed over him and he suddenly felt close to tears.

The other boy looked at him somewhat curiously. "It doesn't matter. Anyway, let's find a dryer spot." Aichi once again found his right hand in a warm, wet grip and then he was stumbling behind the taller boy.

"So, my name is Kai. Kai Toshiki." The boy trod forward purposefully. "What's yours?"

"Se-Sendou Aichi," Aichi answered tentatively. The stiffness in his legs loosened up and he let himself be dragged, passively, through the black maze of trunks, branches and bushes.

"What were you doing in this forest anyway, Sendou Aichi?" The boy named Kai said.

"I...," Aichi hesitated. He was not supposed to tell anyone, was he? But he wasn't supposed to meet anyone either. Mark-sensei only gave him a name and a one-sentence instruction before sending him off. "If you die, you fail by default-gozaru, Sendou-kun." He had said. Aichi had nodded and left silently. No one really told him whether he could ask people for help or not.

And just maybe, Kai knew where he could find that thing he was looking for.

Aichi fidgeted anxiously, almost walking into Kai when he stopped abruptly.

"This will have to do," he said, letting go of Aichi's hand. A hiss announced Overlord's agreement. Aichi curled his fingers at the loss of contact and stepped meekly out from behind Kai. Their destination was a small clearing. A little slanted and dark, it was relatively dry, as far as the dim torch that was Overlord's eyes allowed him to tell.

Kai started kicking away sodden branches and Overlord scraped at the slushy mess underneath with its tail. The recent snow had been followed by rain which casted a rather frigid and wet layer over the ground. Aichi bent to help them, feeling completely useless.

"Stop mucking around, Overlord," Kai glanced at the creature and dumped a relatively dry pile of twigs at his feet. "Come light a fire for us."

Overlord hopped towards them energetically. Aichi thought it looked happy, the way a pet dog would, except it had two legs instead of four and metallic scales that cover the full length of its body. If it wasn't moving around, he would have thought it was a piece of armour on display, like those he had seen in Mark-sensei's house. As he watched, Overlord made a rumbling sound and a flicker of yellow flared up on the tip of its narrow muzzle, followed by a blinding flash.

Aichi tripped and smacked his head on the tree behind him.

"Dammit, it's too wet," he heard Kai mumble as he tried to blink the bright blurry blob out of his sight. Before he could manage to, another flare assaulted his vision. This time the light lasted a whole few seconds and was accompanied by a continuous soft roaring. Aichi peeked at Overlord from between his fingers. What kind of Monster could breathe fire? Anxiety caught at the back of his throat and he bit his lips.

The twigs crackled and folded in the orange heat. Overlord stood back proudly and looked at them, smugness reflecting off his posture, as if to say, "See that? It's called perseverance."

Kai brushed his fingers over the budding flame and sighed in contentment. "Come sit down, Sendou Aichi."

Aichi complied with a slight hesitation on the other side of the fire. Kai dropped down heavily and flung his backpack next to him. He stripped off his cloak and gloves and placed them close to the flames, which Overlord continued to nurture with small puffs. Mustering courage, Aichi stretched his now no-longer-frozen fingers towards the heat too.

They sat there in silence, feeling the cold drain away and the tension slacken.

"So," Kai began. "Let's have a formal introduction. This is Overlord," He pointed at the armoured creature.

"What is it?" Aichi couldn't suppress his curiosity. He felt a tad rude right after asking, having referred to Overlord as an 'it'.

"He's a mechanical fire seeker. Actually, he's my master's fire seeker, but I tend to think of him as a very useful lighter," Kai explained. Then he looked inquiringly at Aichi. "What about you, Sendou Aichi? What are you doing alone in this forest? Without gloves too."

Technically, Aichi didn't have anything besides the clothes on his back and a short hunting knife. "I'm…," He mumbled. "I'm looking for something."

Kai frowned. Aichi shifted nervously and continued.

"It's called a _lozenge magus._ It's a white flower that blooms in the coldest mornings. I have to find it and return to the village in eight days."

Kai stared at him.

"Um, do you know anything about it, Kai-kun?" Aichi asked.

Overlord snorted. Kai laughed.

"Do you need dried ones or fresh ones?" He asked. "If you want them dried, then you have to get to the nearest town with a tea market. If you are looking for fresh ones, you just have to…" He twisted his head to look around. "…wait until morning then pluck it from _there_." He pointed at a short bush two metres behind Aichi.

Aichi turned to the bush. He felt heat creeping up his face. Embarrassment clawed at his inside and he squeezed out an 'oh'.

Kai watched him. "Is it a test?"

"Huh?"

"Collecting a common flower. Is it a test of your courage?"

_Courage._ Aichi's heart sank. That was what it was all along and Kai figured it out. This first test, supposedly something that is different for everyone, was to cover the things they were the worst at. Aichi, shy, weak, 'spineless' Aichi, what was better than to make him spend eight whole days alone in a creepy forest? He heard that when the other children fail – which were quite often – the adults tend to find them in horrible conditions. He knew of a girl who never spoke since and a boy whom he had never seen since.

What would happen to him?

The fire cackled and incinerated the little bit of hope and confidence he had.

"It is your first day today?" Kai asked, pushing a thick branch carefully into the fire.

"Y-yes."

"Do you think you will fail?"

Aichi looked down at his hands. "Yes," He whispered.

"Why?" Kai looked at him intently. Aichi felt a lump rising up his throat.

"B-because," Aichi said. "I'm weak and scardy, I'm slow and I can't f-fight."

"Is that what people say to you?"

"Well, not always. But…"

"Then you're not like that," Kai decided. "You just think you're like that."

"Huh?" This was the first time Aichi ever heard something so ridiculous. He didn't know what to make of it. "I'm not…"

"Hold on," Kai shook his head. Then he reached over to undo his backpack. "I'll give you something," He said, digging through the content.

"Um," Aichi tried again. "The other children are all faster and stronger than me. They don't cry when they get hurt."

"Wait," Kai said, apparently given up on the bag because he was now digging through his pockets. Aichi watched him go through his trousers, shirt, jacket and lots of hidden pockets under the many layers he wore. For the first time since their meeting, Aichi examined the strange boy. He knew that Kai was tall, but now that he stood up, he could see Kai was easily a head taller than himself. The firelight highlighted his gravity-defying hair red-gold and his sharp eyes narrowed in concentration.

He suddenly snatched up a fabric wallet triumphantly. "Found it," Aichi's eyes followed Kai's hand as he reached into the pouch to produce a something long and thin. It glinted in the flame.

Kai sat back down. "Come over here, Sendou Aichi."

Aichi got to his feet hesitantly and settled next to him. Kai scooted closer.

"This," He opened up Aichi's hand and dropped the object into his palm. Aichi gasped. "Is Blaster Blade."

* * *

**Thanks for reaching the end of the page! **

**I started writing this nonsensical thingamajig because I want to escape my other fic and 'real stuff' for a while. The setting is really confusing, even to me. It's like a warped version of Kung Fu Panda-verse, with people instead of animals, Japanese names instead of Chinese, and approximately 600% higher mortality rate. Other characters will come out soon! I'd like your ideas on them, but I realise I haven't given you enough to start with. Be patient and wait a little while? :3**

**Next chapter: Snow and a Lie.**


	2. Chapter 2: Snow and a Lie

**Chapter 2 – Snow and a Lie**

Aichi's hand trembled and he held up his other hand for support. _Blaster Blade?_

"I don't know why it's called Blaster Blade," Kai said. "It just is."

"What is it?" Aichi asked.

"A key."

"A key?" Aichi stared at the strange thing that spanned across his two hands. It was mostly a stark white like that of Kai's jacket, with dark lines that could be blue running along the edges on either side. The slim length of the blade extended out in a streamlined arrow, widening ever so slightly on the way, before fanning out sharply and tapering softly to a point. If you thought of the stuck-out part on the other end as the sword hilt, then the cross guard would be the white flared wings which thinned to envelope the blade like petals.

The strangest thing was the dark red stone set in the middle of the cross guard. It really didn't look like something that could be on a key. In fact, keys that Aichi had ever seen in his eight years of life were only ever grey or bronze, with the occasional mossy green. This incredibly weird and expensive looking key, what could it be for?

"Um, Kai-kun…"

"It's yours," Kai said.

Aichi gaped at him. "I can't...I mean, it's so expen…!"

"It's not," Kai cut him off. "I just found it. Besides, I didn't say to sell it."

Now Aichi was really confused. He wasn't thinking of selling it.

Kai continued, "To me, it's just a useless key. To you it's something else entirely. Hold it like this," He grabbed Aichi's hands and turned them marginally downwards. The firelight caught in the flat side of the blade and shone briefly into Aichi's eyes. "Now, what do you see?"

Aichi was at a loss. Where could Kai be going with this? "I see a very large key.""No, not the key. What do you see in the key?"

_Huh?_ Aichi scrutinised the blade. He saw a key. Or a key disguised as a sword. If he stare hard enough, he could even see a sword disguised as a key.

Kai gave up.

"Look, think of the middle part as a mirror," He sighed. "Now what do you see?"

"A mirror?" Aichi echoed. He fixed his concentration on the key once more. Sure enough, the strip of shiny metal in the middle could really be a mirror. He tilted it to face himself a bit more, and held it away from himself. There, framed on top and bottom by horizontal edges, was his own face. Wide pools of darkness stared back at him, uncertainty written in the lines of his irises. He looked exactly like he had always been. This couldn't be what Kai wanted him to see. "I-I don't see anything."

Kai frowned in irritation. He shuffled to behind Aichi and reached over his shoulders to grasp the key in both hands. "Everyone sees something when they look into a mirror," He said emphatically. "You see Sendou Aichi."

In the reflection, Aichi saw himself shiver.

"The Sendou Aichi in here is not a small and wimpy kid," Kai continued. "He is tall and strong, he has friends and allies. Most of all, he is a warrior worthy of wielding the Sword of Legends, defender of the weak – Blaster Blade!"

Aichi's brain slowed to a stop and he dropped the key with a shudder. "I-I'm not like that, Kai-kun…!"

"That's why you should use your imagination," Kai responded, picking up Blaster Blade from the ground and planting it back in Aichi's hand. "When you can imagine, you can do it. That's what my master said."

"Your master?" Aichi looked to Kai, who shrugged offhandedly.

"One of the few things out of his mouth that aren't jokes or lies."

Aichi looked back at the key. "Oh." Then, could this really be true? Could he really become tall and strong, like his father?

"Believe it, Aichi. You are strong." Kai's voice was firm.

Aichi turned to him in wonder. This strange boy, someone whom he had only met for no more than twenty minutes, suddenly took on a solid importance. The fire lit his features with fiery gold lines, flickering like Aichi's own heartbeat. There was no mockery in Kai's eyes. Revelation thumped in Aichi's chest. _Kai-kun is the strong one. _He was the tallest, strongest, most _incredible_ person Aichi had ever met. His voice shone brighter than any light Aichi had ever known.

There was so much he wanted to say, but they all shied away from his mind, leaving only a phrase of gratitude and welling eyes. "Thank you, Kai-kun."

Kai grinned slightly. "You're welcome. You are lucky I found you before you froze to death by yourself."

Aichi ducked his head in embarrassment. "I'm s-sorry."

"Don't be," Kai yawned. "Quit apologising. You will make people think you are weak."

"Right. So-," Aichi began before clamping his lips shut. He nodded instead. Kai glanced at him with a slight smirk.

"I'm tired. Are you, Sendou Aichi?"

"Yeah," Aichi smiled. He liked the way Kai said his name like he would call a grown man.

"Right then, let's go to sleep," He yawned again and grabbed his oversized cloak by the fire and dragged it over himself. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Aichi answered. He glance at the fire and found that Overlord was already asleep, curled up on his front with his tail in the glowing ember. He smiled again and lay down on his side, facing Kai's back.

The fire continued to burn softly.

Aichi closed his eyes and imagined returning to the village. His mother would hug him and cook up a colourful meal for him and his father. Yes, his father would be proud of him. He would pat his head when Mark-sensei told him how Aichi had passed his test. Aichi would be very happy. The other children would play with him and maybe he could…

"Come over here, Aichi," Kai's voice scattered his thoughts. Aichi opened his eyes to find that Kai had turned around and was looking at him intently. Aichi shuffled towards him. Kai sat up and moved even closer, then flipped his cloak open and draped it over them both. Warmth bloomed inside Aichi's chest and his nose suddenly felt stuffed up. Kai lay back down.

A breeze filled in the silence that followed. Leaves danced softly over their heads.

"You will pass this test, Aichi," Kai said, his eyes open and fixed on the sky.

"Mm," Aichi followed his gaze. Even if there was no star and no moon, the sky was still beautiful.

"But you need a map, and gloves. You can't forget your gloves."

"Mm," Aichi breathed sleepily into the fabric. It smelt warm.

"Never forget the gloves…Never…forget…" Kai's voice drifted in and out of the calm.

Aichi dreamed of warm hands and laughter.

* * *

When he woke up the next morning, Aichi found himself next to a patch of cold and wet charcoal. On its side were a neatly folded map and a pair of burgundy gloves.

He still had the cloak on him. Kai was gone.

* * *

**It's short, but hopefully not too bad :3**

**This is part two out of three of the prologue. I'll try to finish the last part in the break after my 3 tests next week ^v^**

**Next Chapter: Home.**


	3. Chapter 3: Home

**Yay, I made a cover pic! But what's with that red squiggle? It looks like a hyped slug on a quest, yuck. D:**

**By the way I changed the 1st chappie just a little, because it bugged me that Aichi called his dad with a Japanese suffix, not that this fic has ever gone within miles of being 'logical' to begin with. This change extends to this and future chapters. While I rot within the confines of 'school work', Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 3 – Home**

"I'm home," Aichi called tentatively though the door. He pushed gently and it swung open with ease. That scared him a bit, considering its ruinous state before he left. Who could have fixed it?

He treaded lightly on the smooth wooden floor. "Mother," he tried again. It was eerily still.

_Are they out?_ Aichi wondered. It shouldn't be the case, as his mother was never an outdoors person, let along leaving the house in the middle of winter. She would rather brew tea and make jars and jars of brown stuff that Aichi always saw her stash in the basement.

A patter of footsteps broke his rising anxiety. A small shape darted out from around the corner and cannoned toward him. "Eeeee!"

On instinct, Aichi bent down to catch the object neatly into his arms. It giggled.

Aichi smiled.

"Emi, you've grown," He brushed a hand over her soft fringe. It bounced back to its original unruly arrangement on her forehead.

"Grown?" She looked at him with wide eyes, radiating confusion.

He laughed. Of course it was a lie – how could anyone grow over eight days? But she looked so happy she seemed different, like he had left for ages. He missed her playing with his hair, even if it hurt a little when she used it as a lever to stand on her tiptoes. Her cheerful spirit lifted his mood greatly.

"Aichi," A familiar voice said. Aichi looked up to see his mother leaning against the wall, smiling.

"Mother," He stood up and dashed towards her a little too quickly. She caught him in a vast embrace that sent tingles through his nerves. He breathed in the scent of her warmth and his nose acted up again, threatening tears to overflow from its storage space. She stroked the back of his head slowly and repetitively. He felt her strong heartbeat through the materials of her clothes.

"How was the task, Aichi?"

"I passed," He mumbled. "I gave the flowers to Mark-sensei before coming home."

"That's good," She said softly and let go of him. "Are you hungry? I will get Mutsuki-san to cook something for you. "

"Thank you, Mother," He smiled. Come to think of it, he really was hungry. There was a hard, slightly painful knot sitting in his stomach. His eye sockets felt strained and bruised and a light headache tapped on the back of his eyelids. He reckoned there were probably slabs of mud, dirt and sweat plastering the layers of his clothes together. It didn't take him long to decide that he needed a bath.

It was later that the fatigue set in, causing his field of vision to narrow alarmingly and he almost dropped his chopsticks from his awkwardly twisted grip. His head's weight on his neck was becoming increasingly heavy. His mother's voice floated through the thin wall, talking soothingly to Emi in the other room. Aichi heard the words 'father' and 'dinner' and they made him smile so hard he thought the rice in his mouth was going to spill out.

The rest of the evening was a blur.

Aichi remembered zombie-ing to his bed, his mother's fingers combing through his hair briefly, the cold breeze that Jun shut out from the window and how _right_ it was to sleep in his own bed.

He woke up to a flash of lightning followed by a scattered rumble. He shivered, thinking back to when he was leaning against a wet tree trunk, hoping desperately for the grey clouds above to hold out for another day. _But it's all okay now. _He sighed contently and snuggled into his blanket. He was home, dry, warm and away from all the terrible things out there.

_What would Kai be doing now?_ He wondered. The thought made the corners of his lips curl upwards, but it slipped off a moment later when he realised it was raining really hard outside.

_And he doesn't have his gloves. _He thought in dismay. Was he cold? Tired? Could he be in the forest still? Aichi gripped his blanket and brought it under his chin. He shouldn't have gotten Kai's gloves. He really shouldn't have. After all, Aichi was warm and tucked comfortably in bed while Kai could still be in the cold, pawing through branches with frozen fingers to light a tiny fire.

What's more, Aichi couldn't find him now to give him the gloves.

Then a thought hit him so hard he gasped and bolded upright. _What happened to the gloves? _

He remembered bathing, and when he finished, all the clothes he changed out of were gone. Someone must have taken them to be washed, or thrown away if necessary. Aichi knew the gloves were worn-looking – the right one had a hole on its palm, and most of the finger holes were frayed and somewhat split at the edges. Despite its shabby look, the material held surprising elasticity and strength and he loved the way it kept him warm. If a servant glance at its pitiful exterior and decided that it didn't deserve cleaning anymore, they would –

Aichi flung the blanket around his shoulders and staggered to the door.

The Sendou estate was large, in comparison to most of the other houses and estates around. Technically, the house that Aichi lived in was not the Sendou main house – which was a much, much bigger architecture to the west of the village – but it could still have the name 'Sendou' due to its impressive size (something Aichi could not understand). Whereas the main house had an authoritatively traditional feel to it, with its high gate and intricate décor inside out, Aichi's home was a fresh and comfortable addition to the almost weary atmosphere of the village. A finely glazed brick fence and trimmed shrubbery surrounded a U-shaped assembly of sub-buildings, which in turn hugged a hexagonal courtyard. Roofs tilted proudly upwards in folds of red, complementing the maroon walls and decks. On a good day, the entire place smelled of sophisticated simplicity.

But on a not-so-good day, like today, the attractiveness became treacherousness.

Aichi nudged the door to the courtyard open and was immediately assaulted by furious wind and a pounding barrage of rain. He ducked his head and staggered clumsily down the rain-slick steps. The little bit of day light provided by the murky sky was enough for him to trip across the yard, stepping all over the corners of his blanket along the way. He made it to the other side without falling on his face.

"Mutsuki-kun," he called, straining to outdo the cacophonic storm in the background. "Mutsuki-kun!"

There was light through the gap in the bottom of the Jun's door. Aichi's hope leaped. _Perhaps he really is inside. _Then his toes caught painfully on the last step and his shoulders crashed into the wooden railing.

The door opened. Jun's startled face greeted him. "Aichi-kun?" Surprised turned instantaneously to mortification. "Why are you all wet?"

Aichi's sodden blanket slipped onto the floor in a defeated bundle. "Th-the…" He stammered. "What did you do to the…?"

Jun hauled him through the doorway. "You're gonna get me into trouble," He grumbled, looking frantically around the room for water absorbent material. "If you get sick right after surviving that huge whatever, my dad will skin me."

"Sorry," Aichi bit his lips. "But anyway, did you wash the gloves I brought back, Mutsuki-kun?"

"Glove?" Jun asked and threw a cloth over Aichi's head. "You mean those mangy old things?"

"Yes, those," Aichi looked at him hopefully. "You didn't throw it away?"

Jun frowned. "No. That's the reason you ran all the way here?"

Aichi relaxed in relief. "Someone gave them to me."

"It's not like you can give them back," Jun scoffed. "Hurry and dry yourself and get back to your room. You've got to put on something dry."

Aichi smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Mutsuki-kun."

"Hurry and go," Jun grunted. "You're lucky I'm not with my Dad in the kitchen. Or you have to run all the way to the back."

Aichi paused. "You're allowed in the kitchen, Mutsuki-kun?"

"Yeah, since a week ago."

"Oh."

Aichi left through the interior corridors.

He hoped he wouldn't get a cold, so Jun's dad wouldn't get mad, then Jun wouldn't get a beating. It wouldn't be fair if that was to happen. After all, Jun was one of the few people in the entire village who paid him any attention, even if it_ was_ his job. Aichi liked him. He wasn't sure if Jun liked him much but he was happy all the same.

They had known each other for quite some time, ever since Aichi's family had moved out of the main house, from which Jun and his father accompanied them. Jun's father, Mutsuki-san, was a very scary man. Aichi avoided the kitchen where he worked, not because he yelled at Aichi – he never had – but that Aichi almost always found him yelling at someone or other. Even outside of the kitchen, the man's temper rang through the estate. Perhaps that was the reason he was only ever called Mutsuki-san by everyone. Nothing more, nothing less.

As for Jun, being his son, had to be called Mutsuki-kun.

Aichi took the long way, dragging his blanket behind him. He trekked around the kitchen and past the study where he normally had his literary classes, and stopped short because there was someone in it. His movement caught the attention of the closest figure and she turned.

"Aichi, you're awake," His mother said, smiling. Then a frown crossed her eyebrows. "What happened, Aichi? Did you go outside?" She trotted towards him. "You'll catch a cold."

"Now, now," Said the other occupant of the room, which turned out to be Mark-sensei. "Sendou-kun is a hot-blooded young man – he isn't afraid of the cold. There's nothing to worry about." He leaned down at Aichi. "Right, Sendou-kun?"

Aichi nodded mutely. His mother's shoulders slumped in exasperation.

Mark-Sensei grinned. "Besides, Shizuka-san, do we not have something for Sendou-kun?"

_For me? _Aichi felt apprehension crawling up his spine.

"Ah, yes," Shizuka straightened up. "We've just received your father's correspondence."

"Father's…?" Aichi wasn't sure what it meant, but it must be something quite good. "Father is coming back?"

Shizuka pursed her lips. "No, it's a letter from him. Actually, his job has extended to another eighteen months."

Aichi's eyes widened. _Eighteen? _

"And how many years is that, Sendou-kun?"

_18 is more than 12, so…_ "Two years?" He answered in dismay.

"One and a half, Sendou-kun."

"Oh, sorry."

Still, one and a half year was a really long time. Just when Aichi really, really wanted to tell him he passed his first ever test too…

Shizuka ruffled Aichi's hair. "Your father is busy. He's protecting some very important man in a faraway place. He asked about you in the letter."

Aichi felt tears prickling in the corner of his eyes. "He did?"

Shizuka smiled. "Yes. He says congratulations on passing."

Aichi blinked. "Huh?"

Then pride and elation bubbled over in his chest. _He believed I would pass. _His father's strong shadow never felt so close. Aichi could almost see his angular features softening just a little and feel the weight of his large hand on Aichi's shoulders, pushing him forward, showing him the way, believing in him.

_That is why, _Aichi placed his hand slowly but firmly over his heart. _I will do my best to become the strong person you believe I can be. _He will grow taller and stronger and braver, and when his father came back, he would show him how much he had grown. By then, hopefully he would be worthy of Blaster Blade.

_Someone like Kai-kun?_ A small part of himself asked. _Yes, like Kai-kun,_ The large part of him replied.

Aichi smiled.

* * *

A weeks later, Aichi passed his second test.

A month after that, Jun disappeared.

A year afterwards, Aichi's father's job extended yet again, this time to the next four years.

Another year later, Aichi became a functional member of the village.

Then, after another two years, almost four years since Aichi passed his first test, Sendou-san died.

* * *

**Next chapter: People Change.**


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